Yabe's giant deer and elk remains from the Late Pleistocene of Kumaishi-do Cave, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan (Part 1): Antlers, a skull, mandibles, and teeth
Kumaishi-do Cave is one of representative Late Pleistocene mammal fossil localities in Japan. The excavations of fossilferous sediments in the cave had been conducted from 1965 to 1981, and had produced a large number of mammal remains including well preserved large-sized deer remains. This paper provides detailed systematic descriptions for the deer remains, which are assigned to two species with nearly the same size, the Yabe's giant deer (Sinomegaceros yabei) and elk (Alces alces). Remains of the two species have been often lumped to be the giant deer in Japan, and thus this paper presents osteological and dental features which distinguish the two species. Based on osteological features, mainly on antler morphology, this paper confirms that the Yabe's giant deer is a Japanese endemic species distinct from Chinese species of the genus Sinomegaceros. This paper also reveals the age structures in the remains of the two deer species based on the degree of tooth eruption and abrasion.
岐阜県熊石洞産の後期更新世のヤベオオツノジカとヘラジカの化石(その1)角・頭骨・下顎骨・歯
